Citation

Walsh K, Rassafiani M, Mathews B, Farrell A, Butler D. J. Child Sex. Abus. 2010; 19(3): 310-336.

Affiliation

School of Early Childhood, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia. k.walsh@qut.edu.au

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10538711003781392

PMID

20509079

Abstract

This paper details a systematic literature review identifying problems in extant research relating to teachers' attitudes toward reporting child sexual abuse and offers a model for new attitude scale development and testing. Scale development comprised a five-phase process grounded in contemporary attitude theories, including (a) developing the initial item pool, (b) conducting a panel review, (c) refining the scale via an expert focus group, (d) building content validity through cognitive interviews, and (e) assessing internal consistency via field testing. The resulting 21-item scale displayed construct validity in preliminary testing. The scale may prove useful as a research tool, given the theoretical supposition that attitudes may be changed with time, context, experience, and education. Further investigation with a larger sample is warranted.

Language: en